Skeleton key: Three big IFs
Imagine this scene with me:
After spending the better part of a week in Tel Aviv, you’ve had your fill of unsuccessful discussions and dead-end conversations. So far, you have found only scant details on the whereabouts of the Book of Life.
”When all else fails, go to the library”, you mumble to yourself as you walk into Beit Ariela library. However, you know that somewhere in their collection of books, journals, and newspapers could be some information to guide your next steps.
Your initial search turns up several books worth searching through, so you gather your first stack and settle into a quiet corner to do some focused reading. About half the books in your stack have a thick coating of dust, betraying how long it has been since anyone looked at them.
Several hours later, towards the back of your third book on ancient manuscripts, you find three small folded sheets of paper. Each one appears to be a handwritten letter from a father to his son. The age of the paper, along with their crumpled sides, suggests they could have been used as bookmarks the last time this dusty book had been opened. The first letter’s text reads:
My son,
If you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding;
furthermore,
if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure,
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up success for the upright;
He is a shield for those who live with integrity
so that He may guard the paths of justice
and protect the way of His faithful followers.
Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and integrity – every good path.
The letter is signed by “A. Danling”. The name sounds familiar, but you’re not sure where you’ve heard it before. However, the letter’s formatting stands out to you, and you notice how it helps drive the point that the father is making to his son.
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Observation of the Biblical text is a skill us modern believers need as well. The text above is from Proverbs 2:1-9, and right off the bat, you’ll see that Solomon leads with three big IF statements:
IF you accept…
IF you call out…
IF you seek…
What we can gather from this is that the pursuit of wisdom must be an intentional choice. It’s not enough to agree that wisdom is important…we also have to decide to take the necessary actions to find it. Solomon tells his son that wisdom isn’t going to just dawn on him; instead, it must be prioritized and pursued. You must seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure – how much focus and effort do treasure hunters put into their search? That’s what is needed for us to find and apply God’s wisdom.
Fortunately, Solomon also included a couple of “then” statements, to help his son see how his efforts to find wisdom will benefit him in life.
After prioritizing and searching for wisdom, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God – which means you’ll have the skeleton key from Proverbs 1:7 in hand:
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Next we see that the Lord’s gift of wisdom will act as a shield, bringing success and protection as we navigate life and live by God’s principles. The good path we desire is available to us, as we skillfully apply wisdom’s lessons.
So the questions we must ask ourselves are pretty straight-forward. We would all agree that wisdom is an important pursuit, but what are we doing to seek it out?
What steps are we taking to find it?
How often do we ask God for it?
Are we daily looking to the Bible to find it?
If wisdom is our treasure, then let’s prioritize being a treasure hunter.
Keep Pressing,
Ken